A levels of processing approach to sentence memory is proposed, placed in the framework of an interactive parallel model of sentence processing. The development of an on-going memory representation of a sentence is functionally identified with the successive stages in sentence processing and comprehension. The role of the major clause boundary is seen as depending on the syntactic and semantic interrelationships between successive clauses and sentences. These hypotheses are tested by examining the development of comprehension and memory over time, and the effects of inter-clausal dependencies on these processes. The experimental techniques include a modified clause-memory paradigm (Jarvella, 1972), which tests immediate memory for sentences as a function of their clause structure. In addition, semantic/phonetic monitoring and "on-line" probe tasks will be used to study stages in sentence processing -- also with special refefence to the major clause boundary.